New England College Announces Bridge to the Future $37 Million Capital Campaign

New England College has announced the public phase of a $37M capital campaign, Bridge to the Future, the largest fundraising initiative in the College’s history.

“When New England College was founded in 1946, to serve veterans returning from World War II, our founders had a bold vision for creating an innovative higher education institution dedicated to improving the lives of students and society.” said New England College President Michele Perkins. “The Bridge to the Future campaign marks an important milestone in our College’s history and is critical to expanding and enriching our tradition of providing educational and programmatic opportunities for students from New Hampshire, the region, the country, and indeed the world.” added Perkins.

This campaign is the most ambitious fundraising effort in New England College history. It will provide comprehensive support for several of the College’s strategic priorities including the John Lyons Center, a new academic building that opened September 2016; The Rosamond Page Putnam Center for the Performing Arts, a 350 seat theatre; endowed and named scholarships; and the Opportunity Fund. Overall, the College has already secured nearly $35M toward the Bridge to the Future campaign.

“The success and growth of New England College will be significantly accelerated by the momentum generated through the Bridge to the Future campaign.” said New England College Board Chair, Lex Scourby, ’75. “While the success we have already achieved is remarkable we obviously cannot rest and, in fact, New England College’s future depends upon the successful completion of this important and historic fundraising effort.” Scourby said.

In addition to fundraising commitments for the John Lyons Center and The Rosamond Page Putnam Center for the Performing Arts, New England College has secured over $12M in gift and pledge commitments toward strategic priorities connected to the Bridge to the Future capital campaign. These generous gifts include a total of $5.6M in endowed and general scholarships; a $2.5M gift to support online learning; a total of $1.8M to support strategic plan priorities; a generous $1M plus endowment gift from a class of 1968 alumnus to name the College’s Administration Building; and a total of $1M to support the College’s general endowment fund.

During the silent phase of the capital campaign the College received more than 12,000 gifts from 3,000 donors. Throughout the campaign the average gift size has quadrupled. Seven generous donors have given $1M or more. Forty-seven percent of donors have given through the Opportunity Fund, which has supported the campaign with gifts surpassing $4M.

“The leadership gifts made to this campaign are remarkable and awe-inspiring, as they allow true transformation of the campus and student experience. Just as impressive however, is the outpouring of support from alumni, parents, and friends from all across the country at all levels of giving. Participation at every level is critical to the success of the campaign. I am extremely optimistic that NEC supporters will redouble their efforts to ensure we close out this campaign by meeting and perhaps even exceeding our goals!” stated New England College Vice President for Advancement, Marie Muhvic.